My hand glided smoothly down Pomella’s messy hair, her body feeling a bit cold but not uncomfortably so, and I felt my arms tighten around her a bit. The small bird was sleeping in my arms as I laid down, having suddenly conked off mid conversation. I didn’t mind too much, it just meant I got a second to think, although my mind was partially focused on her for any signs of waking. I couldn’t tell when she would wake up since she was in a dreamless sleep, so I was careful, making sure not to move too much under her even when my Chest seemed to find its current predicament uncomfortable.
It took another five minutes before she woke up, blinking once after opening her eyes before yawning a bit, smiling at me. “You know, your an amazing bed,” she said softly, snuggling closer and I laughed softly, wrapping one arm around the small of her back. She looked at me, then tilting her head pulled away, looking at the worn out clothes she wore, then my own. She seemed to think, then a split second later she had seemed to appear next to the couch, pulling off her clothes. I eeped, and closed my eyes blushing and confused. She giggled, I guessed at me, then a few seconds I felt her lay back on top of me, but she felt almost like she was wrapped in a cold vail, and slowly I opened my eyes.
Her old clothes lay discarded on the couch on the floor in a heap, lumped up together. What she wore instead looked like flowing mist, as if dew had frozen in a dress around her, while at the same time looking like the breath of a person frozen in air, like a plume of white mist. It seemed to swirl around her form, getting denser in the right spots while misty in others, and together it looked like she was wearing a top, similar to the one I was wearing. Her pants was more like a long skirt, and she gave a cheeky smile, and I noticed her cheeks tint ever so slightly with red. “So, do you like it?”
“M-mhm, it looks good on you,” I stuttered a bit, then cleared my throat and gave her a gentle squeeze. I heard her softly chirp, and we laid like that for some time, the moment seeming frozen in time as we held each other, simply relaxing in each other’s arms as we held each other, the world faded out leaving only us. All I could see was her eyes, a beautiful green that put emeralds to shame, and I felt my heart speed up as her eyes found my own. I could feel her for a time become the very center of my world, and even though I hadn’t quite loved her before, I felt my heart thump more and more in response to the moment, and with her being my world I felt my head gravitate towards hers. My eyes closed, and as I got closer and closer my heart beat harder, faster and louder, seeming to drown out all other sound. Bm bm, bm bm, bm bm, bm bm, bm b -
The moment was ended rather suddenly as I heard a door open, and my head fell back with my eyes popping open, letting me see how close me and Pomella’s lips had been. I felt both relieved and sad, since I wasn’t sure I was ready for that just yet. A few moments later Inum and Morrow came walking in, both smiling a bit Inum taking a slightly sassy stance with one hand on her hip as she looked at us. “Hope we weren’t interrupting anything, I was hoping I could maybe fix up little Pomella’s hair,” she teased, looking to the two of us. Pomella pouted, looking away. “But i don’t need my hair done, it's fine how it is!” she protested, and I chuckled softly slowly sitting up causing her to go with me.
“Come on little birb, your hair is looking a bit messy,” I teased softly, and she responded by pouting even more in my general direction. I laughed now, giving her a gentle squeeze before slowly picking her up. She felt light as a feather in my arms as I gently deposited her into Inum’s lap, even as she squirmed just a bit. “Nooooo my beautiful hair!”
“Oh quiet silly, i’m not going to cut it off,” Inum scolded softly, bapping her on the head with a finger before smirking evilly. “Unless of course I have to~”
Pomella’s mouth, which had been opening suddenly snapped shut, eyes wide. There was silence for a few seconds, then Inum laughing softly, grabbing a comb before starting to slowly do Pomella’s hair. “I was teasing Pomella, don’t worry,” she said softly smiling, and I watched approvingly as Pomella relaxed back against Inum, the bit of tension that had rammed its way into her shoulders seeming to leak out like water.
As I watched I felt the couch dip a bit as Morrow sat down next to me, watching the two of them as well. To my surprise he seemed a bit worried as he watched the two, and the worry seemed to double as Inum held out a hand and made a small bit of fire lick up between her fingers. Pomella watched it amazed, before realization slowly donned in her bright eyes, and she turned to look at me and Morrow wide eyed. “I'm the incarnation of retribution, aren’t I?” she asked softly, looking to Morrow. He met her eyes as Inum continued to do her hair with a mother’s focus and after a second nodded. Pomella turned her head to look at Inum, and I saw facts and realizations shoot past her eyes.
She stared at Inum for what felt like eternity, and after one eternity Inum looked back, her eyes meeting Pomella’s. Another eternity lasted, then it was simply over. Pomella blinked, smiled and pressed back against Inum gently, giving off a small chirp of contentment. Morrow let out a huge sigh and relaxed, closing his eyes and simply laying there for a second.
“Thank god it went like that, I was so worried she would start disliking Inum,”
“Why would she do that?”
“Retribution and death are kinda natural enemies, if Inum hadn’t been so friendly from the get-go then Pomella would have started to dislike her for the simple difference in their elements,” Morrow explained, opening an eye to look over at me. “Its why Pomella uses ice and snow while Inum uses fire, they are natural opposites,”
“Ah, i see…” I murmured, staring at the two as Inum slowly combed out Pomella’s hair, and with a few expert twists got her hair into two pigtails, and smiled gently squishing Pomella’s face between her eyes, talking in a high pitched and excited voice about how cute the small bird looked. Then everyone in the room’s attention slowly drifted to the door as it seemed to… deteriorate.
The wood seemed to chip away, bit by bit before seeming to become dust, swirling backwards into what almost looked like the void. That void shifted, shaped and Pomella flinched away from it, her eyes widening. Then the second I blinked it was gone, the door and the void and in its place was a figure dressed in a black tuxedo, wearing a large brimmed black hat, reminiscent of a cowboy. I couldn’t tell what their gender was either, it seemed like every time I tried to look at anyplace that would tell my vision blurred and I looked away to have it turn back to normal.
Even though I couldn’t see their face I felt them smile, but it also felt like a frown at the same time. “Hey everyone! Nice to see you three, and nice to see you again little Pomella,” the voice sounded out, sounding a bit warped making the gender hard to identify. The figure crouched down and waved at Pomella, who shrank back into Inum. Inum glared at the figure, and flickers of flame appeared on the back of one hand. They seemed to smile even more, and simply shrugged. “Sorry about the mishap hun, I had thought you were already a personification sorry I warped your senses so bad,” they apologized softly, and after a second Pomella gave a tiny nod, seeming at least a little less scared.
“What are you doing here?” Inum questioned in a low tone, and the figure turned to face her a bit more directly before standing. “Well i’m here to often an escape room made specifically for you four, interested?”
“Sure, sounds like a good challenge,” Morrow said beside me, and I turned surprised to look at him. A small smile had stretched across his mouth, and I noticed the figure seemed to shift just a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. They cleared their throat, then turned to Pomella. “I swear you will come to no harm little one, it's just an escape room and you can all leave if you can’t get out,” they promised, and after a second she nodded as well, seeming much less scared of him then before.
Inum hesitantly nodded next, and he turned towards me now. “I’ll do it too, thank you sir,” I responded formally, and the figure paused. They turned towards me, and my reality seemed to squirm and shift before my eyes. “Did you just assume my gender?” the figure asked slowly, and after a second I nodded. They seemed to stare at me for a second longer, then shrugged and the strange warping stopped. “At Least your honest about it, alright when you guys are ready step through here,” the figure said cheerfully, and snapped, making a black door appear in the middle of the room.
Morrow was the first to walk through, saluting the figure before disappearing into the inky black that awaited past the door. Inum slowly got up next, and after a hesitant step cursed under her breath and simply jumped in, closing her eyes as she went through. I got up, and walked to Pomella helping her up and gently pulling her to my side. I felt our heartbeats begin to beat in the same rhythm, and after a smile passed between the two of us we jumped in together. The figure stood there for a second, then slowly closed the door giving a soft chuckle.
“˙˙˙ǝdɐɔsǝ uɐɔ ʎǝɥʇ llǝʍ ʍoɥ ɹǝpuoʍ ᴉ”
To be continued...